More Millionaires in Major Cities

U.S. wages might be stagnant, but that hasn’t stopped the upper class from growing in some metro areas.

A new study found the number of millionaires living in the 10 largest U.S. cities increased by a whopping 17.5% last year. According to the report, conducted by consulting firm Capgemini, these cities boast a total of 1,784,000 millionaires, up from about 1.5 million in 2008.

Of the 10 major cities, New York tops the list with 667,200 millionaires, nearly three times those living in Los Angeles, which ranked second on the list. New York has always had the lion’s share of millionaires, but this number reflects an 18.7% year over year growth.

Today New York, Washington, D.C., Houston and San Jose, Calif., have more millionaires than they did in 2007 when the recession kicked into full swing. The other six cities on the list increased their millionaire populations as well but remain below their pre-recession numbers.

Nationwide, the number of millionaires seems slow to bounce back. Another study from earlier this year analyzed the number of households in the country with more than $1 million of assets. It found there were more than 5 million millionaire households in this country in 2009, compared to nearly 6 million in 2007.